(4AD/Remote Control)

Excellent third album from the other dazzling Danes

Home to indie royalty Mew and Kashmir, Denmark seems to effortlessly breed its own brand of Scandinavian melancholy that often gives Norwegian, Swedish and Icelandic artists a run for their money in the creative stakes. Copenhagen’s Efterklang may have less notoriety than their peers, but nevertheless possess enough leftfield charm to make them stand out. Having first surfaced in 2004 with the strings-heavy Tripper, 2007’s ambitious Parade brought the band a slew of glittering reviews (Rave dubbed it a “gorgeous record that never lulls”) while prodigious US multi-instrumentalist Peter Broderick joined as a fulltime live member. Recently signed to 4AD, Efterklang shift gears from complex song structures and dense sonics and edge closer to delicate indie-folk on LP number three Magic Chairs. With Gareth Jones’ (Depeche Mode, Interpol, Mogwai, Grizzly Bear) voodoo all over the mix, the record has a warm, welcoming feel to it – sweet without being sugary and intimate without being awkward. Piano-laden opener Modern Drift, a (comparatively) conventionally-structured I Was Playing Drums and The Beach Boys-like Scandinavian Love are the collective’s most palpably “pop” songs to date, singer Casper Clausen’ hushed-then-longing tenor leading the soaring harmonies. Efterklang’s electronics whiz Mads Brauer is in a lot more restrained mode throughout, which takes away some of the band’s patented experimental flair yet turns tracks like Harmonics and Full Moon into unquestionably lovely, hum-friendly moments. An authentic grower.

****

DENIS SEMCHENKO

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